Last Updated on by Samuel Franklin
Master this support and crowd control focused character with this Gloomhaven Tinkerer guide which details the cards, builds, perks, enhancements and items to optimise your supportexperience. With a blend of damage, utility and healing this build is designed to be effective in most party compositions requirements.
Table of Contents:
– Tinkerer Cards, Perks, Enhancements and Items Overview
– Tinkerer Cards Detailed
– Tinkerer Perks Detailed
– Tinkerer Enhancements Detailed
– Tinkerer Items Detailed
Gloomhaven Tinkerer Guide Overview
The quick reference details how to build the Tinkerer as you progress from level 1 with a focus on balanced and flexible card choices.
Tinkerer Cards Overview
The Tinkerer can explore themes of damage, healing and generalist support utility with the right balance reliant on your party needs with the overview options below providing all three. If your party requires a specific focus refer to the information in the detailed section.
- Level 1: Remove Energising Tonic, Hook Gun and Volatile Concoction with the remaining cards being your starting hand.
- Level 2: Stamina Booster or Disorientating Flash replaces Proximity Mine
- Level 3: Crank Bow replaces Harmless Contraption
- Level 4: Stamina Booster or Disorientating Flash (level 2 card you didn’t get at level 2) replaces Reviving Shock
- Level 5: Disintegration Beam replaces Flamethrower
- Level 6: Auto Turret replaces Potable Potions
- Level 7: Murderous Contraption replaces Reinvigorating Elixir (consider your team damage/healing needs though)
- Level 8: Harsh Stimulants replaces Enhancement Field
- Level 9: Lethal Injection replaces Crank Bow
Tinkerer Perks Priority Overview
- Replace one -2 with +0
- Remove two -1 (take twice)
- Add two +1
- Add one +3
- Ignore negative scenario effects
- Add one +1 wound card (take twice)
- Add one +1 immobilise card (take twice)
Tinkerer Enhancements Priority Overview
- Add wound to the top of Stun Shot
- Add strengthen to the top of Restorative Mist
- Add move to the bottom of Restorative Mist
- Add strengthen to the top of Stamina Booster
- Add move or jump to the bottom of Disintegration Beam
- Add jump to the bottom of Lethal Injection
Tinkerer Items Priority Overview
- Eagle-Eye Googles
- Minor Stamina Potion
- Boots of Striding
Gloomhaven Tinkerer Guide Detailed
This detailed section explores key decisions and the things to consider that are specific to your party or scenario situations.
Tinkerer Cards Detailed
The Tinkerer cards in level order are:
- Energising Tonic (Starting): Double losses in Gloomhaven are always tough to fit into a deck as they are primarily default actions until the need arises. This means the double losses must have significant power to be considered and Energising Tonic top and bottom simply don’t offer enough to warrant consideration as we have abundance of other heal options and rarely will we need a large move action for our role.
- Enhancement Field (Starting): A staple card that is perfectly average for level 1 with an attack 3 value. With 3 range this is a reliable attack and the bottom provides invaluable utility to ourselves or allies when the time is right. The initiative of this card makes this impractical by itself though so if you intend to use the bottom always pair it with a low initiative card.
- Flamethrower (Starting): A tempting card that fits into our hand although isn’t quite as strong as our other burn top attacks given it is situational to achieve peak performance. The bottom is similarly situational and while it can save some damage across a party you’ll need your teammates to be standing together and the Tinkerer not requiring to use a bottom movement action to get into position which is a rare combo.
- Harmless Contraption (Starting): While summons can be fun to use and the Tinkerer has many available they are rarely useful. That being said the decoy can be an okay option to absorb damage for a few turns at the right time and casting this towards the end of the scenario is an easy 2 experience at lower levels as well. Having the bottom heal also provides some good utility for turns you don’t need to move although is only 2 heal.
- Hook Gun (Starting): Another average card from your starting choices that has some niche uses with the pull action. It is also useful in looting based scenarios where this might sneak into your deck to provide your team some additional loot cards.
- Ink Bomb (Starting): A strong card with a deadly loss attack and a reliable move 4 until then. Hitting 2 enemies minimum should be your goal when using the attack portion of this card as 3 is quite rare depending on the scenario and number of party members.
- Net Shooter (Starting): Another one of our strong loss attacks with some bonus utility that can keep enemies at bay to prevent damage on our allies. The immobilise on the bottom is also perfectly themed for this card and provides some utility until you decide the time for the top loss is appropriate.
- Proximity Mine (Starting): While this ties into theme of the Tinkerer character perfectly it is more effort than the reward provides it gives which is a recurring theme across our future trap based cards. The high 6 damage can be used effectively by experienced Gloomhaven player that understand enemy AI or you can look to pair it with a push or pull action from your team. There will be some rare occasions that it sometimes works but given it is a loss combined with its awkward to use initiative you won’t be including this in your hand for long and when it is part of your scenario cards will be relegated to solely a move card.
- Reinvigorating Elixir (Starting): A slightly above average starting choice that is your staple early game heal option. The bottom is also fantastic when used at the right time although does require some team co-ordination for maximum effect as standing next to your allies as a bottom card is difficult with the lack of top movement options for Tinkerer. Planning ahead is key here with this card allowing players to skip a rest cycle and extend their longevity as they don’t need to burn a card as you would in a normal rest.
- Restorative Mist (Starting): Offering the Tinkerer a double heal card and some movement this is a fantastic healing card that also has low initiative value for a quick turn. The bottom is perfect for scenarios that feature lots of poison in particular and we still get to move if necessary to keep up with our allies.
- Stun Shot (Starting): A basic utility card with a reusable stun to protect allies and pairs perfectly with the 20 initiative to disable a dangerous foe most of the time. Move 4 is also a nice backup to have but consider carefully if you want to give up the stun for that movement.
- Toxic Bolt (Starting): One of our best level 1 cards with damage, range and allowing us to poison an enemy. While we don’t really have a use for the earth element that this generates its likely someone in our team (like a Spellweaver or Cragheart) will appreciate it. While the bottom isn’t quite as useful given we want to be repeating the top action it’s a nice end of scenario attack to secure a kill we need and gain some experience. 18 initiative also adds some great utility to this card as its one of our fastest cards available.
- Potent Potables (Starting): Has a fantastic top action in specific circumstances giving us greater healing potency across multiple turns and particular effective with area of effect heals (like Restorative Mist). Move 3 supports this card nicely although the middle initiative can cause us some headaches in planning our turns depending what it is played with.
- Reviving Shock (Starting): A solid level 1 attacking focused card that provides a total of 4 damage provided we can get within 3 range of 2 enemies which is generally not a problem in any party size. Combining this with Enhancement Field is a staple damage combo for the early game Tinkerer on turns where movement isn’t necessary. The bottom large heal is also nice to have when necessary although is a burn card that should only be used for emergencies or at the end of a scenario to get the easy experience gain.
- Volatile Concoction (Starting): Offers situational top and bottom actions that are not particularly useful. Creating a trap to apply poison and damage is just an attack with extra steps while a discarded card recovery simply isn’t impactful enough to trade our own action for. While it becomes better with ice this is simply not something you can expect to have often enough without specific allies but they generally have better uses for it.
- Disorienting Flash (Level 2): A viable option at level 2 if your party composition and playstyle allows you to effectively use the bottom muddle regularly although you do need to get in melee range. The top of this card is also a great stun against two enemies although you do pay for it with a loss and the Tinkerer already has so many other loss cards that can quickly have you exhausting if not careful.
- Stamina Booster (Level 2): The default level 2 choice as it gives a strong heal that will become a staple of our rotation. The bottom is also useful in specific circumstances with particular party members although not the primary reason you’ll be using this card.
- Crank Bow (Level 3): Adding another loss card attack to our hand should be done with caution as we don’t want to exhaust too quickly although our large hand size of 12 can accomodate this. Grab this card at level 3 because it is the superior option but you may not want to place it in your deck straight away depending on your team needs. If you need more damage or movement then swap this with one of your healing cards although if you think your team would struggle with that lost heal you can keep Crank Bow out of your hand until you feel it is appropriate. You could also swap this out for Flamethrower if you are finding that melee focused card difficult to use effectively in your party.
- Tinkerer’s Tools (Level 3): A niche card that is thematic to the Tinkerer but is not useful in the majority of situations as traps are often better used to damage enemies with push or pull actions. The times you need to disarm a trap are few and far between and the bottom is similarly not that effective given traps placed by players can be awkward to utilise.
- Dangerous Contraption (Level 4): Another potential summon for the Tinkerer this can tank a few hits. The move 4 is nice if you find yourself constantly falling behind but we have other move cards available on the sidelines if that is an ongoing issue.
- Micro Bots (Level 4): A bad double loss card that really doesn’t offer anything worthwhile for the Tinkerer. If your party lacks loot focused characters the bottom combination of move and loot can make some scenarios significantly easier but this is extremely niche.
- Disintegration Beam (Level 5): An amazing top action burn in the right situation that always feels good when successful. The bottom is the real reason this card is the better of our level 5 options though with the ability to move next to an enemy and disarm them a welcome sight against a big hitting opponent and provides a great non loss bottom.
- Noxious Vials (Level 5): Like our other level 5 card in the right situation this bottom attack can feel fantastic when the time is right although is slightly more niche and lacks a good initiative. Some party dynamics may enjoy the top action although you are giving up a repeatable disarm from our other level 5 card that is likely not worth it.
- Gas Canister (Level 6): You’ve realised by now that while the concept of trap creation is on theme for the Tinkerer they simply don’t work effectively in practice and require too much setup. That being said the bottom can be extremely powerful in the right team combinations where you want them to constantly repeat a powerful card and in these cases strongly consider Gas Canister.
- Auto Turret (Level 6): Allows you to put out up to 10 damage across 5 turns with fantastic range which means you’ll generally have no problem utilising this to slowly chip away at enemies altough this drops in effectiveness against shield heavy scenarios. Players also need to be careful to activate this at the right time to ensure you get full value from the 5 attacks so until then you’ll be able to use the powerful non loss heal instead.
- Curative Aerosol (Level 7): The top of this card provides a move and heal option although at this stage of progression a 2 heal is simply not large enough other than being something to remove status effects. The bottom heal is definitely stronger although comes at a loss that make it difficult to use in practice.
- Murderous Contraption (Level 7): While the summon is likely to quickly meet their demise the bottom of this card is a great way to add some additional offensive options into our hand if necessary. Accordingly you’ll want to ignore the top of this card completely and simple cycle through the bottom attack when appropriate. You can also utilise the high 94 initiative of this card to help plan late turns as necessary.
- Harsh Stimulants (Level 8): The better level 8 option although is still a situational card with two different methods to burst an enemy. On the top you will take 2 damage when using this though and need to be in melee range so it won’t be a card you regularly use and burn. The bottom is a little more interesting and can boost the damage of your party members significantly when they use an area of effect attack. If you don’t have a party that can make use of the bottom for various reasons I would pass on placing this card in your deck until your party composition changes for it to be useful.
- Jet Propulsion (Level 8): A lacking level 8 card given the top is a summoning related action. The bottom has some niche scenario uses although generally you’ll have a better party member to dive past enemies if necessary to secure a scenario objective.
- Chimeric Formula (Level 9): A unique card that has a bottom for truly insane combinations that can be fun and powerful. Outside of these specific situations though the card is lacklustre especially when compared to your other level 9 card so this will quickly be past over unless you want to experiment briefly for fun before retiring your Tinkerer.
- Lethal Injection (Level 9): The best level 9 option that gives you a burn card that can simply delete an elite enemy from the scenario map when necessary. This offers fantastic utility across the Gloomhaven campaign and is a great last room card with the bottom move being fantastic until you get there given the poison utility and high move value.
Tinkerer Perks Detailed
The key decision point for your Tinkerer perks is how early you want to grab the ignore negative scenario effects perk compared to improving your modifier deck.
Outside of this decision it’s your typical perk point allocation for the Tinkerer with your decisions removing as many negatives as possible before building it up with positive modifiers. This pathway ensures you’ll have greater reliability to improve your damage and ensure you don’t waste those big loss damage cards when you play them.
Follow this up with wound and immobilise benefits which is where the useful Tinkerer perks start to drop off rapidly with heal, additional target, muddle and fire generation not having a clear winner given it will heavily depend on your playstyle and party members from this point.
Tinkerer Enhancements Detailed
The Tinkerer offers a diverse range of enhancement options and the order you acquire them is driven by your party progression and needs as you build on top of strong negative conditions, buffing heals further with strengthen and enhancing your move ability with extra movement or jump as a last priority. These principles can be applied to a number of your cards and Tinkerer players should focus on cards that will stay with them for a long time in a scenario for maximum value.
Stun Shot is a great initial candidate to add wound which gives you a reliable and repeatable action to place both stun and wound on a key target that is hard to match in power. Second buff your heals with strengthen for the team or buff some move cards if you find yourself struggling to keep up in scenarios. Grabbing at least one jump can also be a good option if you find yourself constantly restricted by obstacles or trap. Key candidates for healing buffs include Restorative Mist and Stamina Booster while move or jump can be placed on Restorative Mist, Disintegration Beam and Lethal Injection.
One powerful combination not noted above as it requires significant gold income is adding disarm and a target to Reviving Shock. This turns this Tinkerer card into an absolutely devastating 3 target disarm that is repeatable for team utility.
Tinkerer Items Detailed
Eagle-Eye Googles are a fantastic initial purchase and should be activated before area of effect attacks or loss cards in particular to ensure they achieve the damage they are capable of. Pairing this with an early Minor Stamina Potion to boost your already high longevity gives you a little more freedom to make aggressive plays with loss cards or maximise experience gained. Lastly, the Boots of Striding as the Tinkerer can be a little slow on the movement side depending on the stage of your progression with levels and enhancements.
Beyond this players will want to adapt to team needs to fill in their weapon and armour equipment slots. A Piercing Bow is absolutely viable although you do have enemy debuffs and some high value attack cards as alternatives so that one will be party specific. Leather Armour is generally a little more useful to the Tinkerer than a Cloak of Invisibility as you’re rarely in the position that you need to go invisible. The Tinkerer really doesn’t need many items beyond Prosperity level 1 items given you already have such great utility but if you have gold to spare you can add a few other sources of enemy debuffs from equipment (weapons and consumables).
For information and build guides on other Gloomhaven character options visit our Gloomhaven classes overview and the related Gloomhaven class tier list.
